History Literature / TheJoyLuckClub

* RealitySubtext: [[http://authorlink.com/interview/part-1-amy-tan-revisits-joy-luck-club-in-latest-release-2014/ Amy Tan essentially lifted An-Mei's backstory from what she was told about and researched about the backstory of her grandmother]]. Ironically, both the experience and mannerisms of An-Mei's mother and the evil Second Wife are modeled after her grandmother.

* ArtisticLicenseMusic: At the end of the section Two Kinds, she mentions playing two songs from Robert Schumann's ''Scenes from Childhood'', ''Pleading Child'' and ''Perfectly Contented'', thereafter realising that the two songs are actually two halves of the same song. The two songs, actually known as ''Bittendes Kind'' and ''Glückes genug'', are actually separate songs from the same book, ''Kinderszenen'', only that they are beside each other. At least the German names were translated into the English names properly.

* HeroicSacrifice [[XMeetsY Meets]] MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: An-mei's mother, trapped into a horrific marriage to her rapist, commits suicide by poison, but does so two days before the new year. Folklore states that the third day after death is when a spirit returns to settle old scores -- and you do ''not'' want a spirit angry with you on New Year's Day. An-mei's mother ensures her daughter and son will be cared for.

* TheRoaringTwenties: In the sequences with the mothers' childhoods. More evident in An-mei and Ying-ying's stories, given how they were raised in wealthy families with some Western influence.

* ArtisticLicenseMusic: At the end of the section Two Kinds, she mentions playing two songs from Robert Schumann's ''Scenes from Childhood'', ''Pleading Child'' and ''Perfectly Contented'', thereafter realising that the two songs are actually two halves of the same song. The two songs, actually known as ''Bittendes Kind'' and ''Glückes genug'', are actually separate songs from the same book, ''Kinderszenen'', only that they are beside each other. At least the German names translate into the English names properly.

* ArtisticLicenceMusic: At the end of the section Two Kinds, she mentions playing two songs from Robert Schumann's ''Scenes from Childhood'', ''Pleading Child'' and ''Perfectly Contented'', thereafter realising that the two songs are actually two halves of the same song. The two songs, actually known as ''Bittendes Kind'' and ''Glückes genug'', are actually separate songs from the same book, ''Kinderszenen'', only that they are beside each other. At least the German names translate into the English names properly.

* AsianGalWithWhiteGuy: Most of the women, specifically Rose, Lena, and Waverly. In the film, Rose's is Andrew [=McCarthy=].
** Probably a deconstruction for Rose and Lena. They are not happy with their husbands for the husbands do not understand them and vice-versa. They eventually divorce.

The book centers around four mother-daughter pairs living in San Francisco. The mothers are Suyuan Woo, An-Mei Hsu, Lindo Jong, and Ying-ying St. Clair. The daughters are, respectively, Jing-Mei (June) Woo, Rose Hsu Jordan, Waverly Jong, and Lena St. Clair. All of the mothers immigrated from China during their lives, and much of the book talks about their relationships with their mothers, with the exception of Suyuan Woo. The book is structured in sixteen chapters, each narrated in first person by one of the characters; the first four are told by the mothers, the next eight are told by the daughters, and the last four are told by the mothers, all with the exception of Suyuan Woo, who is dead at the beginning of the novel, so Jing-Mei takes her chapters. Most of each chapter is dedicated to a flashback of the narrator's childhood, usually regarding a particular incident or series of events involving that character's mother.

** 4-year-old Bing's death.

* [[HeyItsThatGuy Hey, It's That Gal!]] Yep, the Dolman Elaan Herself as elderly Ying-ying. And Rose [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration signed up for Starfleet]], while Jing-Mei went to work in an ''{{ER}}''.

* [[HeyItsThatGuy Hey, It's That Gal!]] Yep, the Dolman Elaan Herself as elderly Ying-ying. And Rose ''[[StarTrekTheNextGeneration]]'' signed up for Starfleet, while Jing-Mei went to work in an ''{{ER}}''.

* RapeAsDrama: Tyan-yu and Lindo in "The Red Candle." Huang Taitai enables and condones this because she wants an heir.

* HeroicSacrifice [[XMeetsY Meets]] MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: An-mei's mother, trapped into a horrific marriage, commits suicide by poison, but does so two days before the new year. Folklore states that the third day after death is when a spirit returns to settle old scores -- and you do ''not'' want a spirit angry with you on New Year's Day. An-mei's mother ensures her daughter and son will be cared for.

* PrecisionFStrike: AndrewMcCarthy's character gives this to his own mother after she makes remarks towards Rose.

* AsianGalWithWhiteGuy: Most of the women, specifically Rose, Lena, and Waverly. In the film, Rose's is AndrewMcCarthy.

''The Joy Luck Club'' is an 1989 novel by AmyTan, which was adapted into a 1993 film, directed by Wayne Wang.

* StageMom: Suyuan and Lindo in regards to their daughters' piano playing and chess playing. Suyuan especially counts since the only reason Jing-Mei picked up the piano in the first place was because Suyuan was trying to force her into being a child star.
* ValuesDissonance: Some of the parenting methods from 1920s and 1950s China may seem abusive to a modern audience.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Arguably, the fate of Ying-Ying's first baby in the movie. In the book, Ying-Ying gets an abortion. In the movie, Ying-Ying carries it to term but later drowns it, acting listless the whole time.

* MeLoveYouLongTime: Examined thoroughly, given that three characters (Ying-ying, Lena, and Waverly) have white husbands.

** Probably a deconstruction for Rose and Lena. They are not happy with their husbands for the husbands not being able to understand them and vice-versa. They eventually divorce.

** Probably a deconstruction for Rose and Lena. They are not happy with their husbands for not being able to understand them and vice-versa. They eventually divorce.

** Probably a deconstruction for Rose and Lena. They are not happy with their (first) husbands for not being able to understand them and vice-versa. They eventually divorce.

* AllAbusersAreMale